LOCATION:Hillside Hall Dormatory – Women’s
Restroom

In
compliance with the "Timely Notice" provisions of the federal Jeanne
Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime StatisticsActof1998 the University
Police are giving notice of a incident involving an alleged Criminal of
Trespass into an on-campus residence hall.

The
James Madison University Police Department is currently investigating an
incident of alleged criminal trespass into Hillside Hall on the campus of JMU,
on Saturday, October 17, 2009 shortly before 11:00.Female complainants report that a very dark skinned black
male, approximately 5’9” – 6’0” tall, wearing all black clothing entered
a women’s bathroom in Hillside Hall and opened the curtain while they were
taking a shower.When confronted
by the complainants the subject apologized and left the area on foot.Subject is described as having a
distinct verbal dialect.Responding officers checked the building and area but were unable to
locate the suspect at the time of the incident.

The
case is still being actively investigated by law enforcement.Members of the University community are
urged to be vigilant and report any unusual circumstances and/or suspicious
activities/persons immediately to law enforcement.

JMU
and the City of Harrisonburg want to encourage everyone in the Community to
exercise good crime prevention strategies all the time and to make these good
daily habits. Close and Lock all exterior doors and windows at
night and anytime the area is left unattended whether it be for 5 minutes or 5
days to go to class, go to the store, visit a friend or leave town for the
holiday. Be particularly cautious about leaving ground level doors and
windows unsecured and even individual room and office doors in complexes where
multiple occupants have access to common areas inside the perimeter of the
residential, administrative and academic facilities. This warning
also extends to vehicles. Car windows should be up, car doors should be
locked and valuable contents should be secured out of sight.

On-campus
students are reminded to exercise safe practices in their dorms by keeping
individual room and suite doors secured.Don’t share access codes with anyone and do not allow unknown
individuals to piggyback into exterior doors to residence halls when you come
or go.You should always report
lost or missing JAC cards and/or keys to University officials as soon as
possible.

The
poster version of this message suitable for posting on bulletin boards in your
area will be available in PDF or HTML versions at: http://www.jmu.edu/pubsafety/IncidentListings.shtml.
Be careful to reconcile the case number and date on the poster version selected
with that found at the head of this message.